Holy Orders
"Holy Orders is the sacrament through which the mission entrusted by Christ to his apostles continues to be exercised in the Church until the end of time: thus it is the sacrament of apostolic ministry."
- Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) - 1536
Through the Sacrament of Holy Orders, a baptized man is configured to Christ by a special grace of the Holy Spirit through the laying on of hands, becoming another Christ (alter Christus) so that he can stand in the very Person of Christ (in persona Christi) among those he serves. The grace of ordination imparts a permanent seal or mark on his soul that conforms him to Christ in a deep and particular way. There are three degrees of Holy Orders in the Catholic Church - bishop, priest and deacon.
Unlike the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist), which are intended for everyone in the Church, Holy Orders is a call given only to some and only to men. It is a gift given as God wills and the Church confirms, not because of what a man can do but because of what he has become through ordination.
For more information about the priesthood, religious life, or the permanent diaconate in the Diocese of Evansville, visit https://www.evansvillevocations.org.
Unlike the Sacraments of Initiation (Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist), which are intended for everyone in the Church, Holy Orders is a call given only to some and only to men. It is a gift given as God wills and the Church confirms, not because of what a man can do but because of what he has become through ordination.
For more information about the priesthood, religious life, or the permanent diaconate in the Diocese of Evansville, visit https://www.evansvillevocations.org.
